Are There Too Many Bowls?

By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek

December 7, 2012

The same question is asked every year… are there too many college football bowl games? While cynics argue that the “niche bowls” serve little “useful purpose” beyond regional economic impact, they ignore three other key factors:

First, the 35 bowls give 70 schools the opportunity to participate in the post-season at a significant level. Nearly half the Division I teams have the privilege of participating in bowl games, a far greater percentage than the approximately 20% selected in the NCAA championships in other sports.

Second, Corporate America loves the exposure. Joyce Julius & Associates consistently reports that bowl titles are among the most successful corporate investments in a sports calendar year. The last time the national championship was played in Miami, FedEx enjoyed nearly $256 million worth of exposure.

Finally, as for TV, Scarborough Research initially reported three years ago that adult bowl game viewers are among the most prolific buyers—20% more likely to bank online, and 28% more likely to have a money market account. Accordingly, get set for over 1,400 hours of bowl coverage.